


Bonding

by aelin_and_feyre



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Multi, Spin the Bottle, empire of storms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 10:10:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14258724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aelin_and_feyre/pseuds/aelin_and_feyre
Summary: Aelin and the gang decide to play Spin the Bottle





	Bonding

Aelin glances around the camp. Aedion sits on a log, staring blankly at the fire. Lysandra is sitting on the adjacent log, Evangeline leaning against her side, both of them quietly conversing. Fenrys, Gavriel, and Lorcan sit cross legged outside their tents in a tense game that Aelin can’t even begin to understand. Elide and Manon are still picking at dinner a couple feet away, Dorian leaning against the tree behind them, watching closely, for various reasons.

Rowan runs his hand down her arm, chin resting on Aelin’s shoulder as she settles farther into his chest from her position between his legs. He adjusts against the tree they’re sitting by and whispers, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “What are you thinking, fireheart?” He wonders.

Aelin runs her hand absentmindedly through Fleetfoot’s fur, contemplating how she should answer him. “I feel like we need a bonding activity.” She ponders, shivering when Rowan’s lips make a trail down the side of her throat, humming in question. “There’s this one game…”

Without warning, Aelin stands, making Rowan slump back against the trunk. He lets out a short growl, prompting Aelin to glance back for a short moment to wink at him. She saunters over to the three fae males, grabbing Fenrys’ bag. They break their intense eye contact as Fenrys looks up at her accusingly. “Ay, what are you doing…” His exclamation dies on his lips when she grabs a bottle of ale, pops the cover off, and starts chugging.

Everyone is now watching as the queen efficiently finishes the bottle in one go. Aedion feels like he should clap when she finally gasps for air and holds the glass above her triumphantly. Dorian lets out a chuckle and Fenrys gapes at her with newfound respect. Lysandra rolls her eyes and Eva just looks plainly confused.

Aelin glances at each of her traveling partners, a mischievous glint in her eye. “We’re going to play spin the bottle.”

Aedion and Dorian exclaim happily while Lysandra quietly groans=, but everyone else is simply bewildered. “I don’t think I’ve ever played spin the bottle.” Elide mumbles, looking to Manon for guidance, who just shrugs.

“Rules are simple, you’ll get the hang of it.” Aelin assures her friend, gesturing everyone to gather in a circle by her. Gavriel ducks into his tent, pulls a blanket out and lays it over the slightly damp ground for everyone to sit on. They all hesitantly walk over, plopping onto the blanket one by one.

Aedion looks around the circle and chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re crazy, Aelin.” He comments but she shushes him.

“Ok, so basically how the game works is someone spins the bottle and when it stops, whoever the end of the bottle is pointing to is kissed by the person who originally spun it.” Aelin meets the eyes of everyone in the circle as she explains, weighing their hesitancy. A few people shift uncomfortably.

Rowan, who is sitting next to Aelin, reaches over and pulls her against his side possessively, glaring at the others. “I don’t think I like this game, Aelin.”

The queen pushes out of his hold with a laugh. “Quiet, you territorial fae bastard, we’re playing. Everyone is playing.” She adds as extra emphasis that she’s not letting anyone out of this. That is, until her eyes land on Evangeline. “Eva, team up with Fleetfoot.” People shift slightly to allow the dog to sidle in next to the little girl. “Great, I’ll go first.”

Aelin reaches forward and easily spins the empty bottle. It does a full revolution a couple times and then slows down a bit. It looks like it’s about to stop on Lorcan when a gust of wind picks up and it turns just a bit more to land on Rowan.

“Rigged.” Manon coughs, making a couple people laugh. Aelin sighs, glancing at Rowan who’s trying his hardest to look indifferent, like he did nothing wrong.

He looks down at the bottle finally and feigns surprise. “Oh, do you kiss me now?” He wonders. “Well, I suppose I’ll make the sacrifice.” He acts, leaning down and capturing her lips with his own. No matter how hard she tries not to, Aelin melts into the kiss and only parts from him when the groans from her companions become too loud. Rowan’s smirking. “Maybe this game is okay after all.” He murmurs, but his smirk slips off his lips when he witnesses one on his mate’s own face.

“Nice try, Rowan, but it’s your turn now, and no more magical influence,” She casts a glance to the other magic wielders in the circle. “From anyone.”

Grumbles float about, the loudest being from Rowan, but he reaches for the bottle anyway and spins it. When it lands on Manon, everyone tenses. Both participants growl, both baring their teeth. Aelin snaps her fingers once, calling attention to her and she makes eye contact with both Rowan and Manon separately. “It does not have to be a kiss on the lips.”

She pleads Rowan with her eyes to somehow make this work and he lets out a grunt. Manon digs iron nails deep into the blanket, and then into the soil beneath. She shuts her eyes tight and Rowan sucks in a deep breath, holding it as he shifts over to her and places the barest of kisses on her forehead. The circle is silent for more than a minute after it ended, waiting for either of the fierce creatures to explode.

When Rowan finally releases his breath, burying his nose in Aelin’s hair, and Manon’s hands release their death grip, everyone else relaxes as well. Aelin doesn’t fail to notice how Dorian slips his hand under Manon’s, detaching it from the ground and holding it in his own. The queen claps happily once. “Great! It’s your turn, Manon.”

The witch shoots her a death glare, reaching forward with one hand and simply turning the bottle one notch to the left, now pointing at Dorian. They both smirk as Aelin rubs her temples. “This is not how this game is supposed to be played, Manon!”

The Blackbeak just shrugs, turning and planting one on Dorian, who’s still smiling. “Don’t worry, Aelin, I’ll play it right.” He reaches forward and spins the bottle. Everyone hold’s their breaths until it lands on Aedion. Aelin feels the tension leave her shoulders as the whole circle laughs.

Being on either sides of the group, both guys get on their knees and scoot to the center. Aedion takes it all in stride, Dorian a bit more awkward, but they manage a small peck on the lips that leaves the whole gathering in stitches from their antics. Aedion smirks as he retreats from a blushing Dorian. Once the circle is reformed, Aedion reaches forward and twirls the bottle expertly.

Elide’s blush when the bottle ends up pointing to her is enough to make them all laugh again. Lorcan lets out an almost indiscernible grumble, but doesn’t do anything as Aedion crawls over to Elide. Manon, however, wraps her arm around the small girl’s shoulders and snarls at Aedion.

The male shrugs to the witch. “It’s the game,” But, to everyone’s surprise, Aedion doesn’t let out his usually wolfish grin. Neither does he go for Elide’s mouth. Instead, he gives her a gentle smile, ignores Manon’s growl, and places a small kiss on her cheek. Elide gazes at Aedion shyly and allows a tiny returning smile to appear.

Against Manon’s wishes, Elide’s bottle spin now lands on Fleetfoot and Evangeline. Elide calls the dog to her and places a big, joyous kiss on the snout, earning her a few happy licks back. Everyone easily chuckles about the exchange and Aelin smiles that her plan is working. Eva spins the bottle, and the whole circle erupts when Fleetfoot bounds over to Lorcan and licks a huge kiss up the side of his face.

The fae male acts disgusted but Aelin notices how his eyes flick to Elide’s giggling form and they brighten slightly. An incredibly awkward turn of events have Lorcan kissing a snow leopard, and then that snow leopard planting one on Gavriel. It’s only after the mountain lion presses it’s large snout against Dorian’s forehead, does she realize what a success this bonding method was. That is, until Fenrys speaks up.

“Hey! The bottle never landed on me!” He pouts, crossing his arms like a child.

Aelin scolds, “Patience! Dorian, spin.” It ends up landing on her, Aelin and Dorian sharing their first kiss in years, making both Rowan and Manon tense again. Rowan is about to ask to finish the game when Aelin once again spins and Fenrys whoops in success.

With her mate grumbling behind her, Aelin smirks, standing and sashaying towards Fenrys. He smiles up at her, eyes widening when she leans down. The kiss leaves Fenrys blushing.

Rowan ends up pulling Aelin into his lap and growling that the game is over. It’s almost comical how quickly people leave the blanket, but most of them are smiling, so Aelin counts this as a victory.

“We’re never playing that fucking game again.” Rowan states, wrapping his arms securely around his mate.

Aelin nods, feigning seriousness. “Oh, yes, of course, in fact, I need something to wash this Dorian taste out of my mouth,” She fakes a disgusted shiver, then slyly smiles up at her husband. “Or someone.”

Rowan growls again, causing a shiver to go down Aelin’s spine. “I’d be happy to oblige.”

Maybe they should play spin the bottle more…


End file.
